


legends scattered

by BunniesofDoom



Series: something like magic [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Ruby Rose (RWBY) Needs a Hug, Spoilers: Volume 8 (RWBY), Volume 8 (RWBY), ruby's really going through it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-12 12:54:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28510749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BunniesofDoom/pseuds/BunniesofDoom
Summary: Ruby's inevitable breakdown leads to a shocking discovery.
Relationships: Penny Polendina/Ruby Rose
Series: something like magic [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2088465
Comments: 1
Kudos: 57





	legends scattered

**Author's Note:**

> Another little idea that I got into my head that just wouldn't leave me alone, so I'm posting it here. This is set after the little clip that was released on the 25th, so spoilers for that and the whole first half of volume 8.
> 
> Enjoy!

Lately, it just seems like everything is falling apart.

First, learning that Salem can't be killed.

Then, Ironwood declaring them enemies of the state and ordering the ace ops to attack them. (And if Ruby is honest with herself, she's still slightly annoyed with Yang for not letting her know that she'd told Robyn about Amity Tower. While she agrees with Yang's decision, she just wishes she could have had a little heads up about it beforehand.)

Then Oscar and Qrow had disappeared, and while they had managed to track down Oscar, she's still worried about her uncle. Knowing that Qrow was in Ironwood's custody doesn't ease her fear by much, and Oscar still won't give them the whole story of what happened to him.

Then they argue about what to do when they're down in Mantle, and they end up splitting up. Ruby hates the idea of separating. They're strongest when they work together, after all. But her sister disagrees. And she can't deny that Yang—who had always supported her in the past, even when she made a mistake— hinting that she hadn't been doing a good job lately had really stung. She still can't help but wonder if Yang is right, and she's just letting everyone down.

Then they have to fight the ace ops again and Nora gets hurt, badly. Ruby's never seen her this bad off, and the scars . . . She can't help but feel guilty every time that she looks at Nora's unconscious body.

And of course, there's also the matter of Penny's missing sword. She doesn't know what Ironwood has planned, but she's sure that it's nothing good.

And then she tries to touch base with the others, only for the call to not go through. As much as Ruby tries to tell herself that they're probably fine, that they just have bad signal down in Mantle, she can't quite erase the fear nagging at the back of her mind.

The broadcast actually goes out, and for a moment, Ruby finally feels that their luck is turning around, that she might have accomplished something—and then it cuts off early, and she finds herself terrified for what might have happened to Penny, Maria, and Pietro. And they has no way to find out their friends' status or come to their aid. She's left just to wait and worry.

Ruby is getting very tired of waiting.

And then, in the span of what feels like a few minutes (but it's probably more like a couple of hours) Salem begins an all-out assault on Atlas, they get into an argument with May, and Penny crashes into the courtyard.

Ruby's not sure how much more she can take.

But still, she tries her best to put on a brave face for the others. When Penny collapses, unconscious or—worse (Ruby refuses to let herself think about the possibility of Penny being dead. Not again.), Ruby does not fall apart like she wants to so badly. Instead, she rushes over to the crater and has the others help her bring Penny inside. They bring her up to the bedroom where Klein is treating Nora and get her settled.

It's okay, Ruby tells herself. You can get through this.

At least she knows where Penny is now. And when her friend wakes up, maybe she can help them find Maria and Pietro.

After all, Penny's still alive. Ruby can feel it. Her soul is still there. Ruby just has to fix the rest of her. And hey, Nora's looking a bit better after being seen by an actual doctor! Her color is better, and her breathing seems a bit steadier, at least. Maybe things are looking up for them at last!

Even with Salem's war still raging outside.

And then the power goes out.

Even with Klein's advice, it's the last straw for Ruby's composure. She's struggling to hold back her tears as he gently suggests that she takes things one step at a time. When Weiss' mom suggests the backup generator, having a task to do still isn't enough to distract her from how miserable she feels.

In the silence that follows, Blake is the one who steps up to the plate. "Why don't Weiss and I go look for the generator, and you stay here and look after Penny?" her friend suggests, clearly sensing Ruby's turmoil.

Ruby nods gratefully. She doesn't trust herself to open her mouth right now.

Weiss and Blake head out, and Weiss' mom disappears, gone just as quickly as she appeared. Klein settles into a chair at Nora's bedside to keep an eye on his patient.

That just leaves Ruby and Penny. Ruby crouches down at Penny's side, trying to force herself to think of a plan. She can still feel her friend's soul, the small spark of life that's always been inside her, which is a relief, but her body is obviously in desperate need of repair. Repairs are something Ruby can handle.

She starts to fumble for the small tool kit that she always keeps with Crescent Rose. It's not much, but hopefully it'll be enough to get the job done. Ruby is good at fixing things, but she's never tried something on this scale before.

She'll just have to try her best. That's all she can do.

As she pulls out a wrench, she's overcome with a wave of hopelessness and despair. What if she messes something up, and she breaks Penny forever? What if, even if she manages to do all the repairs correctly, and has all the right parts, and Penny still doesn't come back? What if she brings Penny, but she's messed up, wrong, not the same girl that Ruby knows and loves?

What if Penny never comes back?

Her vision starts to blur as tears fill her eyes, and she scrubs at her face angrily. Now is not the time to break down and cry, she scolds herself. You have a job to do. But even as she sniffles against the tide and scrunches up her face, she can still feel the first few teardrops rolling down her face.

Crying feels awkward when you're actively fighting against it. Even as her eyes continue to burn and her breath hitches with suppressed sobs, Ruby continues to wipe at her eyes furiously and try to steady her breathing. Despite how much her body is begging for it, she refuses to let herself give in and cry properly.

It takes far longer than Ruby is happy with for her to bring her body back under control, and she hates herself for feeling better afterwards. It's selfish of her to be giving in to her emotions when there's so much at stake. She's supposed to be the leader. She's supposed to smile through the pain and inspire the others to follow her.

Maybe Yang was right about her.

Allowing herself one last moment of weakness for now, she shuts her eyes tightly, takes a deep breath to steady herself, and forces herself to focus on Penny again.

When she opens her eyes, she sees a faint glow surrounding the girl lying on the floor. Her eyes widen in surprise. There's several smeared teardrops on Penny's chest (and Ruby immediately feels guilty for crying all over her friend), but what's unusual is the way that the tears are shining faintly, emitting a soft silver light.

And it's spreading. Ruby watches in astonishment as the glow begins to cover the rest of Penny, first taking over her chest, then traveling to her arms and down to her waist. Before long, the light is covering Penny's entire body, her view of the metal lost under a layer of silver light.

The light doesn't seem to be anything harmful, but Ruby still starts to worry when she can no longer see her friend. What if this is bad, what if Penny is dying, she never got to say goodbye, please don't do this to me again, you were supposed to be safe—

Just as quickly as it came, the light is gone, leaving Penny looking unharmed in its wake. Better than unharmed; the burns from before are gone, and the other damage she'd been dealt in her fall (and whatever else had happened to her before arriving at the Schnee Manor) is gone, as if it had never happened. Aside from some green stains on her dress, Penny looks good as new.

Ruby gasps in surprise.

Penny's eyes flutter open, bright green slowly drifting up to meet astonished silver. "Ruby?" Penny asks softly. "Is that really you?"

Ruby is crying again, but this time it's out of sheer happiness. "Yeah, it's me, Ruby. I'm so glad to see that you're awake."

"I'm so glad to see you," Penny smiles up at her. It's the most beautiful thing Ruby has ever seen. "Where am I?"

"You're at the Schnee Manor," Ruby explains, squeezing Penny's gloved hand gently. "Penny, are you feeling okay? What happened to you?"

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Please comment and leave kudos if you liked it.
> 
> My brain: since Ruby's powers involve her eyes, wouldn't it be cool if she could heal people with her tears like Rapunzel?
> 
> Me: that is cool, but I have enough WIPs right now
> 
> Me: fine I'll write something for it
> 
> I'll probably write more for this eventually, as it's kind of a fun idea to play around with.


End file.
